Five-Year Review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further
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CSD18/2010/BP10 UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS Commission on Sustainable Development Eighteenth Session 3-14 May 2010 Five-Year Review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States: Pacific High-level Dialogue PORT VILA OUTCOME STATEMENT Prepared by ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS 8 - 9 February 2010 Port Vila, Vanuatu Background Paper CSD18/2010/BP10 1 CSD18/2010/BP10 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (MSI) was approved in 2005 as the global strategy for addressing the vulnerabilities of small island developing states (SIDS). In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided through Resolution 62/191 to review the progress made in implementing the MSI at its sixty-fifth session, to be held in September 2010. Resolution 63/213 further stressed that the MSI review should provide the international community with an opportunity to: (a) conduct an assessment of the progress made, lessons learned and constraints encountered in the implementation of the MSI; and (b) agree on what needs to be done to further address the vulnerabilities of small islands developing states (SIDS). 2. In pursuance of the above resolutions, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) assisted the Pacific SIDS to prepare their national assessment reports (NARs) and drafted a Pacific Regional Report (the draft report). Furthermore, UNESCAP, with financial assistance of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the collaboration of members of the Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific (CROP), organized the Pacific High- level Dialogue (Meeting) on the MSI in Port Vila on 8 and 9 February 2010, hosted by the Government of Vanuatu. The Meeting provided Pacific SIDS with the opportunity to exchange views on national progress towards implementing the MSI and give feedback on the content of the draft report. 3. The meeting was attended by Ministers of Finance/National Planning and Senior Officials from the Pacific SIDS and representatives of international and regional organizations. The Prime Minister of Vanuatu and the Executive Secretary of UNESCAP opened the meeting and the President of Kiribati provided closing remarks. The meeting was divided into sessions during which UNESCAP presented a section of the draft report as the basis for discussion. Ministers provided formal responses on the content and then the floor was opened to other participants for comments and views. Sessions were moderated by the Chief Executive Officers and senior officials of regional organizations. II CONSTRAINTS, PROGRESS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PACIFIC 4. Participants discussed the challenges faced by Pacific SIDS, such as isolation, small area and population sizes, lack of resources, the high frequency of natural disasters and vulnerability to rising sea-levels. These challenges have been compounded by the recent fuel, food and financial crises, the effects of which are being transmitted to the Pacific through various channels. This has emphasized the vulnerabilities of Pacific SIDS, with the ultimate impact being lower economic growth, worsening economic outlook, falling government revenues and increasing poverty. 5. Participants concluded that the vulnerabilities of the Pacific SIDS continued to exist while the ability to cope with them has decreased. The area where international and 2 CSD18/2010/BP10 regional cooperation has become most urgent is climate change. The adverse impact of climate change threatens to offset development gains for a number of SIDS and in several cases their actual physical existence and survival. SIDS are on the frontline of climate change and many have diverted scarce resources meant for socio-economic development to adaptation and mitigation programs. 6. Despite the challenges, much had been done in the Pacific to progress towards implementation of the MSI. The draft report identified over thirty regional initiatives implemented over the past five years and it noted successes in conservation (i.e. the Micronesian Challenge), energy (e.g. the bulk purchasing of fuel, production of renewable energy and setting of national targets to reduce reliance on fossil fuels), subregional shipping, aviation reforms, and tourism. The opening up of labor markets in neighboring areas, including on foreign ships, was also noted as a positive development, as were the achievements of some countries in maintaining political and macro-economic stability. 7. Participants also noted some progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), although none of the Pacific SIDS are on track to meet all the goals by 2015. Some countries were able to maintain positive economic growth during the global economic crisis, even if it was lower than in previous years or in comparison with Asia and other regions. 8. Discussions highlighted that the Pacific Ocean, although often seen as an isolating factor and a barrier to development, is an “Ocean of Opportunity” that must be managed for the benefit the Pacific islands and the world. Pacific ecosystems are highly diverse and have sustained the lives of Pacific communities since first settlement. They comprise the most extensive coral reefs in the world, unique landforms, globally important fisheries, significant land and seabed mineral resources, and high numbers of endemic species. The Pacific is host to the only large-scale tuna stocks remaining in the world. The region may also contain resources of potential use to humankind that are yet to be discovered. To safeguard Pacific communities and maintain the health of their ecosystems in perpetuity, the meeting noted a precautionary or “low-regrets” approach must be applied to the development process, as outlined in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration. Strengthening the resilience of ecosystems will be integral to achieving development goals. In their discussions, the Ministers and officials highlighted a number of critical vulnerabilities in the Pacific which include: III. ADDRESSING THE VULNERABILITIES OF PACIFIC S.I.D.S: IMPLEMENTATION 9. In their discussions, the Ministers and officials highlighted a number of critical vulnerabilities in the Pacific which include: 3 CSD18/2010/BP10 a) Climate change remains the greatest challenge as current and predicted impacts serve to undermine progress towards development and, for some of the Pacific SIDS, threaten their very existence. Recognizing that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) remains the mechanism for negotiating action on this issue, the meeting noted the need for: o Urgently reaching agreement on and implementation of meaningful and legally binding commitments following the less than desirable outcomes of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen; o Supporting the provisions in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Climate Change Declaration of September 2009, including immediate adoption of a package of mitigation activities up to and beyond 20121; o Providing SIDS with new, additional, predictable, transparent and adequate sources of grant-based financing to fully meet the adaptation needs of these particularly vulnerable countries, and ensure for SIDS that access is timely, direct, prioritized and simplified; and o Developing adaptation funding modalities, including cost-effective solutions to protect the natural environment, designed specifically for Pacific SIDS. b) Energy - fossil fuel dependency has a crippling effect on national budgets and revenues and impacts on key productive sectors in the region such as fisheries, agriculture and tourism. Support is needed from the international community for: o Immediate diversification in energy options, with a focus on renewable energy; o A move to appropriate technology in key productive sectors; and o Coordinated support from donors with respect to appropriate technology transfer. c) Natural and environmental disasters - the ‘knock out’ effect of natural disasters on economies and the limited ability to recover has been experienced by a number of Pacific SIDS over the last five years. Support from the international community is needed for: o The establishment of vastly improved early warning systems at regional and national levels; o Improved affordable insurance mechanisms; and o Improved post disaster support with financing and reconstruction. 1 This provides for: i. long-term stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at well below 350ppm CO2-equivalent levels; ii. global average surface temperature increases to be limited to well below 1.5° C above pre- industrial levels; iii. global greenhouse gas emissions to peak by 2015 and decline thereafter; iv. reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions by more than 85% below 1990 levels by 2050 v. Annex I parties to the UNFCCC to reduce their collective GHG emissions by more than 45% below 1990 levels by 2020, and more than 95% below 1990 levels by 2050, given their historical responsibility; vi. a significant deviation from business as usual by developing countries through measurable, reportable and verifiable nationally appropriate mitigation actions in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing